The Holocaust is a sorrowful event known as the systematic extermination of millions of Jews by the Nazi regime during World War Two. Crimes from the Holocaust were the outcome of the Nazi government's use of both hard power and soft power strategies. The concentration camps, where prisoners were subjected to physical abuse, torture, and death, were evident examples of hard power, which is characterized by the use of force and compulsion. On the other hand, soft power was used through psychological manipulation and propaganda to win the Germans' support and cooperation. In this research paper, the use of both physical force and soft power during the Holocaust will be addressed, along with how they impacted how the genocide ultimately played out.
Hard power was utilized by the Nazi regime in many ways during the Holocaust. Six million Jewish people were massacred by the Nazi regime in Germany during the Holocaust, a period of organized extermination that took place during World War Two. By using "hard power," and force to advance the Nazis' goals of racial dominance and purity, the Holocaust was made possible. This included the usage of concentration camps, where captives experienced awful conditions, forced work, and medical exams.
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Joseph Nye, a political scientist, used the phrase "soft power," which he defined as "the ability to attract and persuade, rather than coerce" (Nye, 1990). By creating a false impression of their goals, the Nazis exploited soft power to deceive the world community. For instance, they presented the concentration camps as re-education and work camps required for Germany's security and the welfare of its population. In order to instill a sense of nationalism and harmony among the German people, they also deployed propaganda, depicting Jews and other targeted populations as adversaries of the state (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,